The Indian Premier League is the most significant addition to the cricketing calendar for years. It’s also by far the most well funded and most watched form of the Twenty 20 form of cricket, and all the best players in the world feature. And most important of all, it’s played in a country which adores the sport.

And this isn’t just about not getting to see the action in India. The reason for the shift is security concerns following the attack on Sri Lanka’s team in Islamabad.

But what message does that send? Is the fact there’s also an election in April, good enough reason to say security cannot be guaranteed for players and spectators?

Some people highight America’s reaction to 9/11. Would the World Series have been cancelled? Or in the UK after 7/7, would that summer’s big cricket matches have been cancelled? In both cases there were no cancellations.

India is a vast country with significant resources. Would it have sent a stronger message to Islamist radicals who carried out attacks in Mumbai and Islamabad, if the Indian government had said the IPL will go ahead whatever it takes?

Is frustration that these attacks are allowed to have such an influence justified, or is this sensible decision making at a dangerous time?

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64 Responses to “Is India showing weakness in the face of terrorism?”

Something tells me that India has a LOT more islamic radicals than the US does, hence why the world series wasn’t cancelled. if you notice, none of the 9/11 attackers were Americans, born here, or anything like that. Even if we presume that .1% of muslims are militants, there are LOTS of muslims in India, so .01 of hundreds of millions of people is still a lot of people. hence, why india has a serious risk of terroristic attacks, and hence why they are taking these precautions.

RE “” Would it have sent a stronger message to Islamist radicals who carried out attacks in Mumbai and Islamabad, if the Indian government had said the IPL will go ahead whatever it takes? “”
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———— Didn’t think the Indian state ran the IPL which would make the thread title a ridiculous topic. At any rate, any mass gathering has to meet regulations required by authorities, and if said gathering doesn’t pass muster it can’t happen.

Clearly Islamic terrorism a strong threat in India as well as many other places. Nobody has the answers yet as how to cope. My long time prediction is this is a 50-100year Islamic Reformation War before it dies out.

Upon further reflection, the Global Corporate Fraudsters who have driven the world into bankruptcy have actually fanned the flames of Islamic terrorism by scattering and then remixing isolated disparate populations with massive legal and illegal immigration policies and destroying local cultures with global consumerism.

The Islamic reformation may ultimately involve global civil wars which painfully divides the world more than it is already divided between east and west.

To me it seems a very bad idea to shift the IPL away from India as this is a way of enabling terrorists to set the agenda. Such a sign can only be encouraging to terrorists all over the world as they are gaining ground against the free world when the free world stops to be free because of them.Although I can understand the fear, India should rather work on doing all the best they can to improve security instead of allowing terrorists to have it their way. Anyway, isn’t it an illusion to think that governments can be everywhere at any time in order to prevent such terrorist attacks ? I believe very strongly that governments should not give in, as India does now, to terrorists !

I think India is just being wise.
They can put up a front and pretend everything is under control and then it ends in a tragedy.
If that happens, no one will look at the efforts the Indian Government put to ensure security, they will just look at how they failed to prevent what happened.
But if I were a President, I won’t accept that the IPL be shifted from India and hosted by my country: there are radicals every where (besides, there is an international angle to terrorism in which terrorist from one nation go to another country to do their evil acts) and any of their acts of terrorism could cost lives, India is now asking other countries to do what it cannot do; guarantee peace and security for the IPL.
I understand that many are disappointed the games will not hold in India, but I think it is better for the games to hold elsewhere for a season, than for India to risk hosting an event which if it goes wrong, may well be the last because nobody will be watching, attending or playing a tournament that could end in a blood-bath.

The goal of terrorism is to alter the behavior of others by instilling fear, hence, those who attacked Mumbai last year, whatever their reasons (political, historic, religious or just simple hate), won their goal with India’s denial of the Twenty 20 tournament. One senses a greater plan at work here by the terrorists… would India’s fear have connected the Mumbai attack to cricket without the recent attack on Sri Lanka’s players in Pakistan?

The fact that the government of India has denied the playing of the IPL games on Indian soil raises even more questions…

* how secure is democracy in India if so many police are needed to protect polling there?

* why couldn’t the IPL be permitted to provide some of its own protection?

* why did the Indian government wait so late to withdraw permission for the games? (The connection to Lahore is clear here.)

* why would the Indian government choose to announce to its people that it is cowered by threat… and even worse to admit to its people and the world that the government does not take confidence in its ability to protect its citizens and tourists?

* will other sports groups, in future, take confidence to organize anything in India, given the clear and present danger for last minute rejection… and perhaps even more important, has the government taken the first step to compromise its nation’s economic development, since an investor’s interest to invest is always balanced by his fear of losing that investment due to conditions beyond his control (the Indian government, not terrorism, in this case).

I submit it is India and its present government that is the victim of terrorism much more than the IPL games. Whether the games are allowed after the backlash of public opinion, or not, the government’s initial denial of the games has made India damaged goods. I also submit that India’s people deserve better.

NOW I am shocked a 3rd world power like India that can marshal a huge army is canceling the IPL there. I think they are showing weakness and its not good for even a country like Kenya that sees India more advanced in security matters technology wise.

It is a major coup for South Africa to be able to host such a prestigious tournament,especially by winning a bid against England. It’s sad however that India couldn’t guarantee security and prevent the IPL from moving. These events can erode the little confidence many have in the Indian government in battling terrorism. I trust that South Africans will do a good job hosting the championship. Amandla.

Trying to compare this to the September 11, 2001 attack in the US, to me, is making a play for sensationalism. In the US, two investigative agencies that normally could detect and stop the attack on their own , missed it. It is also well documented that if they shared information they would have had the whole story and not only stopped it but could have made major arrests. As a result, the US public accepted dramatic changes to their daily lives which including a fascist law package called ‘The Patriot Act’. The changes conceded a major victory to terrorists and brought the US closer to the morals of the terrorists.

Now in India, they have no agency that is sufficiently effective at stopping these groups. Based on this, it is only common sense to not hold an occasional event there. Terrorist groups are effective and thus this is a case of denying them a chance for a more significant victory.

If you want a better comparison, at least India is not accepting them and allowing them their own legal system within their borders as we have seen in the Swat Valley. It seems to me India is doing the best we could hope for.

The attacks in Lahore, Pakistan made a lot of people angry at their government for not keeping the Sri Lankan cricket team safe, so why would the Indian government take the same risk. Cricket fans would be angry if India moved the tournament out of the country, but wouldn’t they be more angry if they held the tournament as planned and the players or fans were injured or killed in some kind of attack?

It is one thing to take acceptable risk, and to live life as usual in the face of terrorism. It is quite another to recklessly endanger the lives of thousands of people. If the Indian government believes that there is a significant, credible threat to the players or fans, there is no reason not to move the tournament somewhere else.

This action of the indian government gives terrorists some thing to celebrate about. Its a clear statement that these human traitors want to hear and thus, the change of venue by the organisers is not an alternative solution but a victory in the eyes these radical elements

Living in a country which put up with thousands of rocket attacks by terrorists with a radical islamic message until provoked into reaction which has left the terrorists and their supporters looking like a cross between mother Theresa and vestal virgins, whilst we are roundly condemned in the West – perhaps a better response from India would be find out the exact number of terrorists and then deploy the exact number of soldiers and thus avoid charges of a disproportionate response.

So far as the West is concerned, given that countries who want to stand up to terrorism are really a bit of an embarresment, flying in the face of poliitcal correctness and appeasement, surely Czeckoslavakia would be the ideal location, for reasons of pure historical association.

The Indian authorities are being prudent. I can’t fault them for that.

I am not a sports fan and do not come from a cricketing nation. Even so, it’s obvious that the terrorists who perpetrated the Islamabad attack were intent on holding cricket fans, and fans of sport the world over, hostage to their despicable violent aims.

In this, I believe the terrorists have scored an own goal. There is only so much that security and intelligence forces can do, locally and internationally. There must be a billion sports fans on Planet and Playing Field Earth. What might happen if those fans were to team up against terrorism?

I am against vigilantism in all its forms, but if sporting communities teamed up to be vigilant in the security of their own games, and coordinated information sharing aimed at identifying potential terrorists, the misguided violent few could soon be overwhelmed by the sheer number of peaceful sports fans the world over.

With a population of over a billion people, it seems a bit absurd that India is claiming it would be stretched too thin if it tried to offer protection at two events. If India wants to send a message of weakness heard and rejoiced by all terrorist organizations, while at the same time disappointing and demoralizing it’s own people it should absolutely stick with the reason given for moving this event. Sporting events are important because of how they can make us feel positive even in the worst of times. I would think for this reason alone the Indian government would want to use the IPL to this end, and do all in their power to make certain it was a safe environment.

When I wrote my comment for tonight’s blog, I referred to the attacks on the Sri Lankan cricket team as having happened in Lahore. Before I posted my comment, I re-read your intro, saw that you referred to Islamabad, and changed my posting.

But the attack actually did occur in Lahore, no? I know the WHYS team works very hard, and is under constant pressure as to time. However, I think you all should take the time to have the daily letter fact-checked.

In this case, although you cannot predict what could happen, I think the Indian government is only showing common sense. But every decision has a price, so in this case is sending the message that terrorist are defining the agenda in that country.

It’s only a sport, it may be inextricably woven into the fabric of the country, but, if this is the only way that people have to feel good about the dire straits that their country is in, something is wrong. Millions of pounds go into promotions and uniforms and etc. etc., beyond the sport it seems that all that money used for security could be used to help people, rather than protecting what is ultimately just a game with a bit more of the “trimmings”, so to speak…..”’ The cost of 1 ticket to this championship would probably feed a family for a month………….

This is comparing apples and oranges. Terrorists can attack India MUCH easier than the UK or the US. If it were Mexico or Canada sending suicide bombers to the US then maybe the comparison could be made.

This is probably a wise choice by the IPL given the current state of the Indian security forces. The Indian police are grossly under-paid, under-equiped and under-trained. During the Mumbai attacks the police had something like single-shot rifles that hadn’t been fired in over a decade vs. modern assault rifles and grenades wielded by the terrorists.

Yes India is a country of great resources, but its government institutions are among the most corrupt in the world. Hopefully resources are filtering down to the police now, but even if there are changes in the wind it’ll take time. Meanwhile, cricket is apparently a target. India clearly is. The IPL has a responsibility to keep their players and fans safe, and I believe they made the right call here. It should be yet another wake-up call to the Indian government. Maybe they’ll stop hitting the snooze button.

Islamic terrorists don’t care about distrupting life, or making people change their day to day lives, or whether sporting venues get changed. They just want to kill as many people as possible. India has made it more difficult for terrorists to kill people, so I applaud them.

Please allow me to remind you that the only threats in India do NOT come only from “Islamist terrorists.” There is a very active faction of Hindu fundamentalists who do much to spark communal violence in teh country. How lucky for them that the focus is always on Muslims!

The decision to shift the IPL away from India for security reasons should be seen as a victory for the terrorists, which will give them as much publicity as when they would succeed in mounting a terrorist attack. Their aim is to instill fear on all levels.

On the other side, it shows that India is still a target of terrorist attacks from within and outside, especially from Pakistan. The terrorists there have two principal aims: to destabilize the Pakistani government and to cause it to have sour relationships with India. It’s not in their interest that Pakistan should be a stable country with excellent relations with India, as this means they can be easily defeated.

On the whole, it’s better to have India concentrate on its elections ,which concern the whole country, than to couple them with a sporting event that can make the majority of Indians have their hands on their hearts in fear for a possible terrorist nightmare.

Following the 9/11 attacks here in the states, sporting events took on a different feel. The World Series of Baseball that year saw three games played in New York City just a few miles from ground zero, and it provided some of the most exciting and dramatic moments in baseball history. I know that millions of Americans took solace in those few hours they could escape from the horrors they had witnessed a few weeks prior. Although I understand India’s position, they shouldn’t forget that it’s the regular everyday things, such as watching a baseball game, that helps returns a country to normalcy.

when there is a massive attack on western targets in India, is it the Hindus that do it? Let’s try to keep on target here. the threat india is worried about re: these sporting events is islamist violence. you can deny it, stick your head in the sand, but trying to change the subject doesn’t help anything.

This is economic terrorism and considering the state of the world’s economy, surrendering to these people sends a message of capitulation to the terrorists and emboldens them. What will happen next year? The same thing, of course. Can’t the Indian government request help from its allies in policing the tournament so it can remain in India? the world can come together in times like these.

I like the way India wants to manage IPL , well who wants to get hurt from the terror obviously no one.

I understand this is not a good idea for indians, but we need to guarantee the security of our host players, look what happen in lahore, i am afraid to say india might be the next victim. india suffered many terror acts, enough is enough.

Obviously, this isn’t JUST a sporting event. It’s a part of India’s national image and the terrorists know this which is why they chose this course of action. Elections can be postponed. If india followed this course of action, it would take the windout of the terrorists’ sails.

I think there is more to this. We are likely seeing the tip of the iceberg.

There is likely strong intelligence reports which is of course not made public. This may have triggered this decision just weeks before the tournament. Maybe this is a way to throw any “expected” violence acts into fray.

But, I also feel that the government needs to up the security, as there is lot of trouble that comes through India’s neighbor.

I always feel shocked when ever Terrorism is associated with Islam.. India government should do more to give the world good image of its country by crushing fundamentalist.. But let us not associate terrorism to Islam, Islam does not support Terrorism.
ISLAM IS A PEACE LOVING RELIGION

Nobody seems to have considered whether or not the South African government is in a better position than the Indian government to prevent or repel a terrorist attack . If miscreants are determined to embarrass the Indians and wreak mayhem on their citizens, sports personalities or anyone else who happens to be in the area , they are not going to let the Indian authorities dictate their venue.

I think this is actually a good thing. It might be likened to hooliganism in the UK. Did the FA/UEFA give in to the hooligans then? In some sense yes, but it turned the vast majority of football fans against hooliganism, whereas before they may only have been neutral on the matter. This decision will actually hurt the terrorists cause. Those who argue that this is submission are oversimplifying the dynamics of the problem. One step back now leads to two steps forward in the future.

The brave always live to regret.terrorists are not people to fear to die.They come there in the first place to die. better safe than sorry.And for those who think that S.Africa isn’t safe, you can as well campaign for the FIFA WC to be pulled out of SA.Lets face it..India lives in a dangerous neighborhood where even with 2 million security forces,security is not guaranteed

Sorry, after reading other post, I have to add this. Does a large population make it easier to find, or to hide terrorist? Can a conventional military or good conventional police force or millions of untrained civilians effectively hunt terrorists? Has there been any clear evidence that there would be an attack? If so, what group would it be?

I give India weak credit for this imperfect choice. I would like to point out they chose to spend massive money on a useless nuclear arms program in the late 1990s. They could have developed civil infrastructures or a proper security agency instead. But they chose to aggravate both a substantial portion of their population and most of their neighbors. We are all victims of our choices!

it is not a question about defiance and acting strong against terrorism. Its simply a reflects players judgements. No international player will be willing to put his life in danger just to proove a point against terrorism. So without players it the tournament would not have gone ahead

The problem isn’t just possible violence, there is also the conflict with elections.
Having said that…
How about USA? There many stadia that could be quickly adapted to cricket, there is a huge population of Indian born or descended persons, there is a growing curiousity about cricket which is the parent of American baseball and there are not the security concerns of the other places now under consideration.

The dilemma that India faces is the to have the joy of cricket and risk the lives of perhaps millions of pelple. And no responsible government will put the lives of its people on plate for sale. I think the decision to host the game in SA is perhaps the best one can imagine if it is base on weak intelligence.

I think the shifting of the tournament isn’t a real solution for the problem of national insecurity, but to shows the weakness of Indian authoritis to fight against terrorism. In my opinion it’s only a sense of achievement for the terrorist. So now they know that these terrorist attacks really hurt India and that the terrorists have an unbelievable strength.

Hi – while i am very supportive of the decision to move the IPL as a pragmatic approach, wondering if India could have spent the money they will be paying South Africa to hire international security personnel to help while hosting the games in India….just a thought.

I’ve always thought love of county means love of its people. I’m glad India will not risk the lives of not only its own people, but others who may be present, just to prove a point or because it is worried about how it appears to the world. I would not risk any of my loved ones on principle.

All the same, it is sad, especially India being a place that most appreciates cricket. Terrorists mess everything up.

I need to correct a misconception that the Indian government cancelled the IPL! This is untrue. The minister for Internal Security (the Home Minister) said repeatedly that sport is safe in India!

There were ongoing negotiations between the governments of all the states and the IPL. But IPl was rather inflexible about moving game dates around. and finally, IPL made the decision to move UNILATERALLY. It wasn’t the government that made the decision.

Well India always showed this image whenever it was under threat of terrorism .Solution is not a shifting of tournament to other countries .It takes away spectator sprits who willing to watch live and see their respective heroes of cricket.On the other hand India priority is security of players is higher rather than spectators .But it’s really heart breaking news for enthusiastic fans of cricket.Hope next time IPL will be held in India.But again India should have to take security measures for securing IPL .

I accept that sporting events help countries come together to root for a common group, but perhaps there is too much emphasis placed on athletes. In America, there is far too much attention and money given to proffesional sports players, and it seems as though that is a worldwide issue. In the end, it is just a game, and it seems like the safety of the fans a players, as well as the safety of voeters is far more important than a game.
The Indian government made the right decision, regardless of how much people dislike it.

Those who have a problem with the decision being taken make it seems as if it’s an easy one to go about. Put any other Govt in that position,with the same level of threat,would they go ahead and have a GE along with the tournament?
Not a sign of weakness at all.Wouldn’t it be better to be safe than sorry or possibly dead.9/11 is not the same as people running/camping around routes to attack players. Kingston, Jamaica

“Something tells me that India has a LOT more islamic radicals than the US does, hence why the world series wasn’t cancelled. if you notice, none of the 9/11 attackers were Americans, born here, or anything like that. Even if we presume that .1% of muslims are militants, there are LOTS of muslims in India, so .01 of hundreds of millions of people is still a lot of people. hence, why india has a serious risk of terroristic attacks, and hence why they are taking these precautions……”
i am an indian and a muslim and i live in india….and in mumbai….i do not understand how ppl like steve get away with such statements….for your information steve..tha actual reason the ipl was moved out was because it co-incides with the general elections..and unlike your country..india is a vibrant multi party democracy where 7 billion voters participate ….so please spare us your opinions……and i am very very disappointed with the bbc for not censuring such comments…this man steve shows an acute bias towards anything islamic……honestly i am appaled…..
fyi…..your “world” series has only american teams playing baseball…..how worldly is tht????i think the comment is idiotic,short-sighted and bigoted in every sense…i hope the bbc shows better judgement next time..if i want to read stuff like this i can switch to cnn or fox anytime……

adding to my earlier post……..the ipl is a private domestic tournament and the govt is not obliged to provide security to the tournament…..secondly ..it coincides with general elections and we in india prefer to have checks and balances to ensure free and fair polls unlike a lot of developed countries hence huge depolyment of forces and officials…..third….the indian govt was always willing to provide security if it was held after the polls…it was the ipl which could not change the schedule and hence moved out…..in my opinion it is not a sign of how things work in india….and i live here…….for us indians the exercising of our votes and participation in our democratic exercise is more paramount than our love for cricket…something our “western” friends might like to consider…and yes steve i am referring to you…..we do not live in an islam-centric world here in india…and we do not subscribe to the bogey of “islamic terrorim” here……and i live here and i am a muslim…..and boy am i glad i am indian….inspite of the fringe elements here…..trust me my man…me as an indian muslim …i am much safer and not predujiced against than in your country…..stop blaming things u do not understand on other people’s faiths……in short….get a life….pls don’t post comments that make no sense to any sane,educated citizen of the world…

Hello again
To Michel Norman. The people you call terrorists are fighting for their country back. From what you write I take it that you are squatting in Palestine. It’s quite normal that the people whose homeland it is take umbrage.
Jim

If I were Indian the anger and disappointment I’d feel will be great but when the next tournament comes up, the excitement will make me forget the pains endured missing the IPL.
But
If I lose a loved one during the tournament to a terrorist attack, I’d live with the pain all my life.

Hi
I think Martin Crowe of New Zealand had highlighted the traffic jams which are created, when the team bus travels from the hotel to the stadium.Any sensible person would understand the risks and possible costs of mitigating it.As someone said, these are essentially club games where a lot of money is being made by fatcats and it has nothing to do with national pride – yes the World cup in 2011 would not be shifted.Also please do not put down Indian Muslims, there are some rotten eggs – as in any other communty

India may not resolve solidarity & unity problem without exposing foreign threat, this is why India dont have good relation’s with any neighbouring country.
No doubt Rajave Ghandhi got killed in Siri Lanka.
Infact Indian Govt is heavely involve in terrorisam, specially in Northern border of Pakistan & Baluchanistan, under these circumstances peace may not be expected from Indian Govt. A clear picture of Hindoo Terrorisam is available in Gujrat on Babri Mosque Issue & English funding to terrorist minded Hindoos Organisation in Gujrat.

What bothers me is the fact that a country of more than a billion people does not have enough security forces to give protection to both the IPL and the elections at the same time?
As an ordinary Indian this really bothers me.By shifting the IPL overseas we are sending out the wrong message to the international community that we cannot provide safety to our guests.

2) The guys who do are in bed with the current government’s opposition. So it is also planned to give the opposition some political milage.

3) The IPL governing body was being very unreasonable with the government’s request to hold the tournament so that it doesnt clash with the elections.

4) The upcoming elections in India are going to be the world’s largest EVER. Paki terrorists will want to have a field time. It’s not easy when one has neighbours that are burning. Also, India has it’s own insurgency problems.

The IPL and the elections just can’t happen together. The organisers have money on their mind, not elections – what makes India the world’s largest democracy.